Gear-shift



G. L. BROCK.

GEAR SHIFT.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE e, 1919.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.'

TTORNEY G. L. BROCK.

GEAR SHIFT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6.19m.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.`

uvm/Tof? @e aLl-3' T0 WITNESSES A TTR/VEYS G. L. BROCK.

GEAR SHIFT.

APPLICATLON EILED JUNE 6. 1919.

,Patented ome. 5,1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 W/ TNESSES E. L. BROCK.

GEAR SHIFT.

APPLICATION FILED IuIIE 6.19m.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IN VEN TUR @dLro ck B y l A TTORNE V8 GEORGE LOIS BROCK, F WEST POINT, MISSISSIPPI.

GEAR-SHIFT.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented oet. 5, 1920.

Appliation llel. .Tune 6, 1919. Serial No. 302,159.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE L. BROCK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of lV est Point, in the county of Clay and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and Improved Gear-Shift, of which the following is a'full, clear, and exact description. My invention relates to gear shifts, that is, to devices used for shifting gear shafts and pinions, and is adapted for general use, but specially applicable to automobiles.

ore particularly stated, my invention oomprehends a tank for compressed air and a number of cylinders controllable by pressure of air supplied from said tank, together with means under the control of the ,operator for distributing the air into the different air cylinders; and also indicating means controllable by air pressure for disclosing to the operator the particular air cylinder which is in action and the colisequent condition of the various movable parts controllable by said cylinder.

My invention further contemplates control of the pneumatic mechanism by means of a shitting lever and a casing provided therewith and having an t'i-slot` these last mentioned parts being mounted `conveniently upon the steering post.

My invention further contemplatesI various improvements in the type of distributing .valve used for distributing air to the various cylinders, the valve being given such form as to facilitate its control by means of the shitting lever.

My invention also contemplates various improvements in the construction and operation of the parts, as hereinafterl brought out more particularly. y

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification. and in which like characters indicate like parts throughout the several igures.

Figure l is a view of my device partly in section and partly diagrammatic;

fig. 2 is a section through the distributing valve and shifting lever, and is taken upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction'indicated bythe arrow;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the mechanism shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a rtop plan view of the machanisrn shown in Fig. 2;

Y Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 of Figs. 2 and 4 looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 of Figs. 2 and 4 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8 of Figs. 2 and 4 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section through the various air cylinders and parts immediately associated therewith;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a front elevation of the pneumatically operated indicator, showing it as inactive;

Fig. 12 is a front elevation of the pneumatic indicating mechanism, showing-it as re istering an indication;

iig. 13 is a diagrammatic inverted plan View, showing the relation between the pneumatic indicating mechanism and the controlling valve and shifting lever;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of thesteering post and parts immediately associated therewith;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 14; and

Y Fig. 1G is a section on the line 16-16of Fig. 9 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. A

Referring more particularly to Fig. l, an air reservoir is shown at 17 and an air pump for forcing air thereinto under pressure appears at 18. This air pump is provided with a pipe 19 leading to the pump governor, n ot shown. An oil trap appears at 20 and contains a volume of oil 21. Between this oil trap and the air reservoir 17 is a hand valve 23. Extending into the oil trap 20 is a pipe 24 which is connected with a pipe 25 having a check valve 26 and connected with an air pump 18. Air is supplied to the air reservoir 17 through the pipe 25. The pipes 24 and 25 are connected to a pipe '28, and connected with this pipe are two pipes 29 and 30. The pipe 29 is provided with a valve 31; and connected with this valve, for the purpose of actuating the same, is a rod 32; and this rod is likewise 'connected with the lever 33 which may be and preferably is the clutch lever of the automobile.

The operator by pressing his foot upon the lever 33 actuates the valve 31 and thus opens the' pipe 29. A pressure gage 17l1 is connected with the pipe 30 and indicates the air pressure within the reservoir 17. A. stationary cylinder 34 forms the body of 'my rockin of the shafts 77, 78 causes the shifting ro s 44, 45 to be moved each in the direction of its length so that the shifting gears .46, 47 are changed in position accordin l however, air under pressure be directed into either cylinder 41 or 42, the correspondstoring the parts controllable by them to neutral position is able to move them past such neutral position. Suppose, for instance, that the shaft 78 is rocked into a clockwise position according to Fig. 10, so as to occupy the position indicated by dotted lines in said figure. If, now, compressed air be directed into both cylinders 41 and 42 it can have no effect in the cylinder 42, but in the cylinder 41 it pushes the piston 83 to the right. rIhis causes the vhead 85 to move against the bearing 88 againstj which it lodges, having reached the limit of its travel. rI'he resul-t is that the shaft 78 is turned slightly so as to occupya position corresponding to the so-called neutral position of the shifting lever. v

1 Will now describe more in detail the action of the distributing valve and shifting lever associated therewith and shown in Figs. 2 to 8 inclusive of the drawing. The revoluble valve member 36 is provided adjacent the crosstube 36a with two ports 36h, 36C, these ports being disposed in the same plane as the crosstube 36. The stationary cylindrical valve member 34 is provided with a passage 29 of substantially U form, and communicating with this passage is a port 391. The stationary cylindrical valvemember is further provided with ports 36d, 36", as shown more particularly in Fig. 6, these ports being located in the plane represented b the section line 6 in F lgs. 2 and 4. 1n the piiane represented by the section line 7 in Fig. 2 the stationary cylindrical member 34 is further provided with two ports 36, 36g. 1n the 'plane represented by the section line 8 in Figs. 2 and 4, the stationary cylindrical valve member 34 is further provided with two ports 36h, 36k, 361.

rlihe various ports are so arranged that when the shifting lever 38 occupies the position indicated in Figs. 2 and 6, the crosstube 36L1 establishes communication between the port 29b and the port 36"; when the shifting lever occupies the position indicated in Fig. 7, however, the crosstube 36 establishes communication between the ports 36g and 36; and when the shifting lever 38 is moved into position indicated in Fig. 8, the crosstube establishes communication between the ports 36 and 36k. l

The casing 35 is provided with an H-slot 35 through which the shifting lever 38 extends and into various portions of which this lever canl be shifted in the manner well known in this art. The H-slot is provided with various portions 38, representing the so-called first speed 38", representing the second speed; 38, representing the third speed; 38d, representing the so-called reverse position 38e, representing the socalled neutral position. Thus, there are five positions for the shifting lever 38.; and these five positions are directly related to five diiierent positions and five different conditions of the crosstube 36B.

If, now, the shifting lever 38be moved to the left according to Figs. 2 and 4, and into the portion 38b1 of the H-slot, that is, into the position associated with the first or low speed of the machine, it is obvious that the movable valve member 36 is shifted to its limit to the left according to F ig. 2. and that the crosstube 381L is brought into the position indicated in Fig. 8. This means that there is open communication from the pipe 29 through the control valve to the pipe 49, so that compressed air is thrown into the left end of the cylinder 39. This pushes the piston 67 to the right according to F ig. 9 and rocks the shaft 78 in a contraclockwise direction according to Fig. 10. Back pressure of air in the cylinders is avoided owing to the fact that any air at the right of the piston can make its escape through the pipe 52, passage 34Il and vent hole 36a. The result is that the shifting rod 44 shifts the gear 46 to the right according to Fig. 1, and into engageilnent with the gear 1., used for low spee Suppose next that the operator brings the shifting lever 38 into the portion 38b of the itslot, or in other words, shifts the lever into position of second or intermediate speed, as indicated by full lines in Figs. 2, 4 and 6. 1n doing this it is obvious that the operator shifts the movable cylindrical valve member 36 in the direction of its length to the right according to Fig. 2, and also that he brings the crosstube 36a into position indicated in Fig. 6, so as to establish communication between the ports 39b and 36e. This establishes communication from the pipe 29 through the controlling valve, through the pipe 50, so that compressed air is admitted into the left of the cylinder 40. The result is, the piston within this cylinder is driven to the right and the shaft 78 is moved in contraclockwise direction according to Fig. 10. Any air within the cylinder and at the right of the piston makes its escape through thepipe 51 and cylindrical valve member 36. The gear shifting rod 45 is actuated accordingly and it moves the gear 47 to the right according to Fig. 1 and into engagement with the gear 2, used for .-;ocalled second speed.

Since, however, thc operator in shittlng the lever 3S from the portion 38 to the portion 38" oi' the H-slot, due to bringing the shifting lever into the portion 38@ of the H- slot, representing the neutral position of the gearing, it is plain that during this movement oi? the movable member 36 of the valve the cross tube 36 must have occupied momentarily the position-indicated in Fig. 7 Such being the case, communication was necessarily established from the pipe 30 to the pipe 52. rlhus, compressed alr was admitted into the cylinders 41, and 42; and, as above. explained, the various movable parts were restored to so-called neutral position, the rods 44, 45, used for shlfting the gears, being also brought into neutral position. With the movable parts 1n thelr so-called neutral position, any dead air in cylinders 39' and 4() makes its escape through the pipes connected with these cylinders, and through the revoluble valve member 36.

Su pose next that the operator grasps the shifting lever 3S and moves it into the p ortion 38 of the H-slot, that is, the positlon associated with the third or high speed of the machine. This brings the cross-tube 3G into the position indicated in Fig. 8, so as to establish communication between the ports 36 and 36k. The result is that compressed air now passes from the pipe 39 through the control valve and into the pipe 5l. lThus, compressed air is admitted into the 'cylinder 40, at the end-thereof to the right according to Fig. 9. The shaft 7 8 is rocked as above described and the shaft is shifted to the lett according to Fig. 1, the gear 47 being shifted in the same direction so as to engage the gear', which is used for the third or high speed.

Suppose next that the operator transfers the lever 38 from the portion 38c to the portion 38d of the H-slot; in deineI this he necessarily first lbrings the shiftlng lever into the portion 38" of the H-slot, thus causing the gears to be moved into their se-ealled neutral position; then as the shifting lever 38'is carried into portion 38d of the H-slot communication is established between the pipe 39 and the pipe 52. Compressed air is thus admitted into the cylinder 39 at the end thereof at the right according to Fig. 1, the exhaust air forcing out through the pipe 49 and revoluble valve member 36, and as a result the shifting rod 44 is moved to the left according to Fig. 9, the gear 46 being l shifted to the left accordingly.

As may be understood from the foregoing deseriptlon, the mechanism as I have arranged it takes care automatically of the gears to be shifted, in the sense that the shifting lever cannot be so actuated as to throw the comprcssed'air into any cylinder where it can do undue harm, at least until after the gears are brought to their neutral position.

It will also be noted that the control over the gears for the purpose of shifting them by aid of the shifting lever is not only powerful but delicate, the result being that the operator hy using one or two of his lingers can so actuate the shifting lever as to shift the gears positively and with considerable force.

The indicating mechanism, shown in Figs. l1 and l2, automatically registers a communication, and this rommunication remains so long as the parts retain the position into which they are thus brought. The operator by glancing at the indicating device can tell the exact condition of the gear shifting mechanism. Indeed, if everything is working properly, he can ascertain the Condition of the gear-shifting mechanism by merely glancing at the shifting lever within the H-slotl I do not limit myself to the precise meehanism shown, as.v ariations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit of my invention.

`Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 'is as follows:

1. A device of the character described comprising a plurality of pneumatic cylinders, gears to be shifted thereby, connections from said cylinders to the gears to be shifted, a casing provided with an H-slot, a shifting lever mounted Within said casing and extending through said H-slot, a distributing valve connected with said shifting lever, means for supplying compressed air to said distributing valve connections from the distributing valve to the pneumatic cylinders, and pneumatic indicating mechanism for disclosing the condition of the gear-shifting mechanism.

2. A device of the character described comprising a pneumatic 4distributing valve,

means for mounting the same upon asteer-a mg post, a casmg 'carrled by said valve and enabling the operator, by moving the shifting lever into a predetermined position of the H-slot, to actuate the distributing valve accordingly, pipes connected with said distributin valve for the purpose of distributing tlie ow of a fluid motlve medium, a set of gears to be shifted, and mechanism controllable by said fluid motive medium for shifting the gears.

4. A device of the character described comprising a pair of rocking shafts, means for supporting the same, crank arms mounted upon said shafts, gear-shifting rods connected with said crank arms and actuated thereby for the purpose of shifting gears, pneumatic mechanism` for actuating said shafts, controlling mechanism connected With said pneumatic mechanism for enabling the operator to control the latter, a pair of pneumatic cylinders disposed upon opposite sides of said shafts, andconnections from each of said pneumatic cylinders to both of said shafts for enabling said pneumatic cylinders to restore said shafts to pre-V determined normal positions.

5. A device of the character described comprising a distributing valve, a collar mounted upon the said distributing valve for encircling a steering post in order to support said distributing valve thereupon, a Valve stem connected With said distributing valve for the purpose of actuating the same, mechanism controllable by said distributing valve for shifting gears, a shifting lever mounted upon said stem and controllable by the operator for the purpose of actuating said distributing valve, and a casing partially inclosing said shifting lever and provided With an H-slot through which said lever extends.

6. In a gear shift, the combination of gears, a plurality of pneumatic cylinders for shifting said gears, connections from said cylinders to the gears to be shifted, a casing .provided with an H-slot, a shifting lever mounted Within said casing and extending through said H-slot, a distributing valve connected With said shifting lever, connections from said distributing valve to said pneumatic cylinders, and means for supplying compressed -air tov said distributing valve.

7. A device of the character described, comprising gear members to be shifted, rods connected With said gear members for shifting the same, crank arms connected with said rods, rocking shafts upon which said crank arms are mounted, pneumatic cylinders for shifting said crank arms into predetermined positions at the Will of the op erator, other pneumatic cylinders controllable at the Will of the operator for restoring said shafts and parts controllable thereby into predetermined normal positions, pipes connected With said pneumatic cylinders, a casing connected with said pipes and provided With an H-slot, a shifting leverI mounted within said casing and extending through said H-slot, and a distributing valve connected with said shifting lever and mounted Within said casing for the purpose of controlling the distribution of air through said pipes.

. GEORGE LOIS BROCK. 

